Hydraulic couplings

ABSTRACT

A hydraulic coupling is provided with a pick-up compartment directly connected with the working compartment and a reservoir compartment. The flow of liquid from the working compartment to the reservoir compartment and the quantities of liquid retained in the respective compartments are controlled by two simultaneously operated valve means in each compartment. Preferably, the valve means comprise pairs of slotted valve plates movable in close face contact with one another.

United States Patent Becker 1 June 20, 1972 [54] HYDRAULIC COUPLINGS[72] inventor: John E. Becker, Bowmanville, Ontario,

Canada [73] Assignee: Eclipse Consultants Limited, Oshawa, O11- tario,Canada [22] Filed: Feb. 16, 1971 211 Appl. No.: 115,331

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Feb. 18, 1970 Canada ..075l26[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,627,167 2 1953- Becker..60/54 2,841,959 7/1958 Snow ..60/54 Primary Examiner-Edgar W.Geoghegan Attorney-Church and Rogers ABSTRACT A hydraulic coupling isprovided with a pick-up compartment directly connected with the workingcompartment and a reservoir compartment. The flow of liquid from theworking compartment to the reservoir compartment and the quantities ofliquid retained in the respective compartments are controlled by twosimultaneously operated valve means in each compartment. Preferably, thevalve means comprise pairs of slotted valve plates movable in close facecontact with one another.

5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEDmzo m2 3, 70,498 sum 1 or 2 Q LLINVENTOR. JOHN E. BECKER BYW/fig PATENT AGENTS PATENTEDJUH 20 m2 SHEET 2OF 2 JOHN E. BECKER PATENT AGENTS HYDRAULIC COUPLINGS FIELD OF THEINVENTION This invention is concerned with improvements in or relatingto hydraulic couplings, of the kind comprising a pump element and aturbine element (sometimes known respectively as an impeller element anda runner element), each provided with a plurality of radially extendingvortex-producing vanes. The interiors of the elements together form aworking chamber containing a quantity of working liquid, usually an oil,and the two elements are coupled together for the transmission of torquebetween them by liquid vortices that are established in the workingchamber between the said vanes. The invention is especially concernedwith such couplings in which means are provided for varying the degreeof filling of the said working chamber to vary the torque and powertransmission capacity of the coupling.

REVIEW OF PRIOR ART Hydraulic couplings are commonly employed in powertransmission systems between a prime mover, such as an internalcombustion engine or an electric motor, and a load to be driven by theprime mover. In an ideal arrangement the torque transmitted by thecoupling is negligible while the prime mover is idling and increasessmoothly and progressively to a maximum when the prime mover reaches itsdesigned optimum speed range.

DEFINITION OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention toprovide a new hydraulic coupling of this type.

According to the present invention there is provided a new hydrauliccoupling comprising a radially vaned pump element and a radially vanedturbine element together defining a toroidal working chamber, areservoir chamber rotatable with the pump element, partition means inthe interior of the reservoir chamber dividing the interior thereof toprovide at least a pick-up compartment communicating with the workingchamber and a reservoir compartment, duct means connecting the pick-upand reservoir compartments for flow of liquid between them, firstcontrol means for controlling the quantity of liquid in the pick-upcompartment, second control means for controlling the quantity of liquidin the reservoir compartment, and means connecting said first and secondcontrol means for simultaneous operation whereby operation of the firstcontrol means to reduce the quantity of working liquid retained in thepick-up compartment and to deliver it to the v reservoir compartment isaccompanied by operation of the second control means to increase thequantity of working liquid retained in ther reservoir compartment, andvice versa.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A hydraulic coupling which is a particularpreferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way ofexample, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings,wherein FIG. 1 is a cross-section through the said embodiment, taken onthe longitudinal axis thereof.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show the relative position of the first and secondcontrol means of the coupling when they are set for the coupling totransmit maximum power, the views being taken in the direction of thearrows A and B respectively in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show the relative positions for an intermediate powersetting, and

FIGS. 4A and 4B show the relative position when they are set for thecoupling to transmit minimum power, e.g., when the working circuit isempty.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The coupling illustrateddiagrammatically herein comprises a pump element mounted on a powerinput shaft 11 that is adapted to be connected to a prime mover, such asan internal combustion engine or an electric motor, and a turbineelement 12 mounted on a power output shaft 13, that is adapted to beconnected to apparatus to be driven via the coupling. The immediatelyadjacent inner ends of the two shafts 11 and 13 are mutually supportedby a single ball bearing 14, the inner hearing race being mounted on aspigot on the end of the shaft 13 while the outer bearing race ismounted in a bore in the shafi 11, the two coupling elements beingrotatable about a common longitudinal axis. The interiors of the twoelements constitute respecn'vely a pump chamber and a turbine chamber,these two chambers together fonning the usual toroidalshaped workingchamber which contains a quantity of working liquid, usually an oil.Each chamber is provided with the usual radially extending,vortex-producing vanes 15 and 16 respectively.

The whole coupling is enclosed in a cylindrical casing 17 having aradial flange 18 at one end, by which the casing can be mounted on thecorresponding portion of the engine with which it is employed. The shaft13 extends through the other end of the casing and is supported adjacentthe end by two spaced bearings 19. The outer races of the bearings 19are mounted against the inner face of an axial bore provided by alongitudinal tubular sleeve member 20 rigid with the casing 17,surrounding the shaft 13 within the coupling and extending toward theturbine element 12. A tubular control sleeve 21 is mounted on the sleeve20 and is rotatable relative thereto under the control of an operator bymeans of a radial arm 22 and an axial extension 23, the latter extendingthrough an arcuate slot 24 provided in the end of the casing 17.

An extension 25 of the pump element 10 surrounds the turbine element inknown manner to retain the working liquid in the coupling, a sealedbearing 26 providing a rotatable, fluidtight joint between the extensionand the adjacent end of the sleeve 21. The extension constitutes areservoir member carried by the pump element, the interior of thereservoir being divided by a radially extending partition 27 into apick-up compartment 28 immediately adjacent the coupling working circuitand a reservoir compartment 29 between the partition and the end of theextension 25. The partition is carried by and is rotatable with theextension.

The two compartments 28 and 29 are provided with respective controlmeans 30 and 31 forcontrol of the liquid level in the respectivecompartment. The first control means comprise two radially extendingparallel partitions 32 mounted on the sleeve 20 and joined at theirradially outer edges by a cylindrical wall 33 to form, in effect anannular chamber. Two cooperating radially extending parallel partitions34 are mounted on the sleeve 21 and extend therefrom in close facecontact with the partitions 32 to form respective control valvestherewith. The partitions 34 are joined at their outer ends by acylindrical wall 35 and they form, in effect an annular chamber 36within the chamber formed by the partitions 32. The partitions areprovided with valve slots which will be described in detail hereinafter.

The second control means comprise two radially extending parallelpartitions 37 carried by the sleeve 20, and two cooperating partitions39 carried by the sleeve 21, the respective annular chambers beingcompleted by end walls 38 and 40, and the inner chamber being given thereference 41. It will be seen that rotation of the sleeve 21 relative tothe sleeve 20 will rotate the partitions 34 and 39 simultaneously in thesaid face contact with one another to give simultaneous operation of thefirst and second control means. The interiors of the two chambers 36 and41 are in permanent communication with one another via co-operatingopenings 42 in the partition and passageways 43 in a hub 44 joining theadjacent partitions 32 and 37, the hub being provided with radialopenings 45. The provision of two pairs of relatively movable partitionsarranged in the manner illustrated to feed liquid in opposite directionsinto a centrally located chamber provides a balance of forces thatminimize the resultant forces applied to the sleeves 20 and 21.

Referring now to FIGS. 2A each partition 32 of the first control meansis provided with a single radially-extending elongated opening 46, whileeach co-operating partition 34 is provided with a small radially-outerbleed opening 47, a radially extending, elongated full-open opening 48and an elongated control opening 49, the last-mounted opening beingsuitably inclined to the radial. Similarly, each partition 37 of thesecond control means is provided with a single radially extendingelongated opening 50, while each co-operating partition 39 is providedwith a radially extending, elongated fullopen opening 51 and anelongated control opening 52, the latter being suitably inclined to theradial.

In operation of the device the extension 23 is placed by the operator,e.g., via a suitable control linkage, in the one extreme positioncorresponding to the coupling providing maximum power transmissioncapacity, whereby the two control members are in the relative positionsillustrated by FIGS. 2A and 2B. The openings 46 and 47 register with oneanother so that there is a bleed flow of the working liquid from thepick-up compartment 28 into the stationary chamber 36 as indicated byarrow 53. This liquid can tlow via openings 42 and the respectivechannels 43 into the reservoir chamber and ensures that there is a smallamount of fluid circulating between the working circuit and thereservoir 29 for analogizing control. At this time the two openings 50and 51 are in full register with one another and any liquid entering thereservoir, other than the small amount permanently therein against theinner wall of the extension 25 is immediately returned to the pick-upcompartment and the working circuit via the respective bores 42, etc.,as indicated by the arrows 54.

If the control member is now moved to the other extreme position,corresponding to no power transmission, then the full-open opening 48registers with the openings 46 and there is a maximum flow of workingliquid from the pick-up compartment to the reservoir compartment. At thesame time the openings 50 are fully closed and all liquid that entersthe reservoir compartment must remain therein, emptying the workingcircuit. With the control member in this position the engine may run atany speed from idle to full r.p.m. without transmission of power throughthe coupling.

If the control member is placed at an intermediate position illustratedby FIGS. 3A and 38, then simultaneously the opening 46 registers with apart of the inclined control opening 49, while the opening 50 registerswith a corresponding part of the inclined control opening 52. Thequantities of liquid in the two compartments will depend upon the radialdistance from the coupling axis at which the co-operating slotsintersect one another to provide corresponding openings for the passageof the working liquid in the respective flow paths. A smooth andprogressive control of the coupling power output can thus be ensured byadjustment of the characteristic constituted by the angle of rotation ofthe control member plotted against the radial distances of therespective opening intersections, which in turn corresponds to theradial depth of the liquid in each compartment and the correspondingvolumes thereof. Thus, although for convenience in illustration in adiagrammatic drawing the elongated openings are shown as straight and ofuniform width along their length, in other embodiments they may besuitably curved and of varying shape along their length to achieve thedesired characteristic.

In another embodiment which is not specifically illustrated the variouscontrol openings are provided in the co-operating pairs of end walls 33,35 and 38, 40 instead of the side partition walls to achieve the sametechnical efl'ect.

What is claimed is:

1. A new hydraulic coupling comprising a radially vaned pump element anda radially vaned turbine element together defining a toroidal workingchamber, a reservoir chamber rotatable with the pump element, partitionmeans in the interior of the reservoir chamber dividing the interiorthereof to provide at least a pick-up compartment communicating with theworking chamber and a reservoir compartment, duct means connecting thepick-up and reservoir compartments for flow of liquid between them,first control means for controlling the quantity of liquid in thepick-up compartment, second control means for controlling the quantityof liquid in the reservoir compartment, and means connecting said firstand second control means for simultaneous operation whereby operation ofthe first control means to reduce the quantity of working liquidretained in the pick-up compartment and to deliver it to the reservoircompartment is accompanied by operation of the second control means toincrease the quantity of working liquid retained in the reservoircompartment, and vice-versa.

2. A coupling as claimed in claim 1, wherein each control meanscomprises a pair of slotted members mounted coaxially with the couplingand rotatable relative to one another to control the flow of workingliquid therethrough.

3. A coupling as claimed in claim 2, wherein each control meanscomprises a pair of flat, slotted, annular plate members movably mountedin close face contact with one another and forming a respective platevalve.

4. A coupling as claimed in claim 2, wherein each control meanscomprises two spaced pairs of slotted members operated by a commoncontrol means and feeding working liquid in opposite directions tominimize the resultant forces applied to the said control means.

5. A coupling as claimed in claim 3, wherein each control meanscomprises two spaced pairs of slotted members operated by a commoncontrol means and feeding working liquid in opposite directions tominimize the resultant forces applied to the said control means.

1. A new hydraulic coupling comprising a radially vaned pump element anda radially vaned turbine element together defining a toroidal workingchamber, a reservoir chamber rotatable with the pump element, partitionmeans in the interior of the reservoir chamber dividing the interiorthereof to provide at least a pickup compartment communicating with theworking chamber and a reservoir compartment, duct means connecting thepick-up and reservoir compartments for flow of liquid between them,first control means for controlling the quantity of liquid in the pickupcompartment, second control means for controlling the quantity of liquidin the reservoir compartment, and means connecting said first and secondcontrol means for simultaneous operation whereby operation of the firstcontrol means to reduce the quantity of working liquid retained in thepick-up compartment and to deliver it to the reservoir compartment isaccompanied by operation of the second control means to increase thequantity of working liquid retained in the reservoir compartment, andvice-versa.
 2. A coupling as claimed in claim 1, wherein each controlmeans comprises a pair of slotted members mounted coaxially with thecoupling and rotatable relative to one another to control the flow ofworking liquid therethrough.
 3. A coupling as claimed in claim 2,wherein each control means comprises a pair of flat, slotted, annularplate members movably mounted in close face contact with one another andforming a respective plate valve.
 4. A coupling as claimed in claim 2,wherein each control means comprises two spaced pairs of slotted membersoperated by a common control means and feeding working liquid inopposite directions to minimize the resultant forces applied to the saidcontrol means.
 5. A coupling as claimed in claim 3, wherein each controlmeans comprises two spaced pairs of slotted members operated by a commoncontrol means and feeding working liquid in opposite directions tominimize the resultant forces applied to the said control means.